The Life of Ryau 'Cinotee: Redux Act I Pt 4

Ryau 'Cinotee

July 02, 2552 0:03 [Twenty-Fourth Soloar Cycle, 92 Cycles: 9th Age of Reclamation]
Orbit of Standard IV: CCS-Class Battle Cruiser [Covenant Special Sciences Ministry Operation Vessel Mercy and Betrayal]
Nick SPARTAN-102 [Project Leau Subject 01/04]
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Nick shook his head a bit. He was lying on his back on some sort of padded platform. Bright lights shone down onto his eyelids. His left side tingled with pain and something was prodding his shoulder. A faint beeping sound pulsed in his ears, following the rhythm of his heartbeat. He could hear deep voices talking, but he could not understand them.

He opened his eyes slightly and squinted into the bright light. The talking in the room stopped and the object that was working on his shoulder pulled away. “Thank God, someone picked me up before they pulled out.” He thought. Nick let his head fall to his left and out of the direct light. However, instead of a Human surgeon standing at is side, a Covenant Elite stood holding a medical utensil. “Oh fuck!” The faint beeping intensified and Nick pulled his right arm free of the restraints. Wincing, he pulled himself up and attempted to launch off the table.

An alarm went off as Nick ran towards the door. It opened as three red armored Elites walked in with some sort of baton. Nick ducked under the first two and punched the third in the mandibles; he could hear a crack as they broke.

The Elite fell and Nick was out the hatch and sprinting down the corridor. As he looked back, a bolt of plasma sizzled across the wall to his right; an Elite in green armor had shoved the red armored Elite's plasma rifle off target. “Alright, I need to get to a hangar, hopefully they haven't left orbit.” Nick thought to himself. It wasn't his first time aboard a Covenant ship, but he had no idea where he should be going.

Nick only had his body suit on, the rest of his armor was missing. If he took any fire as he was, he would not withstand anything over three hits. However, the Covenant did not seem interested in killing him, so Nick counted that on his side. A door opened ahead of him and a pair of Grunts wandered out. They did not notice the injured human running towards them until it was too late. Nick swung his good arm and knocked one of them into the wall, and a kick sent the other Grunt flying out of the room.

The room was a dead end. Racks of alloy and other replacement parts were stacked around. He had made the wrong decision and cornered himself. Nick turned back and tried the door, but it had been sealed from elsewhere. He looked over to the control panel and pressed the red button repeatedly. Every time, it buzzed with an angry alarm.

As he hit a smaller button on the pad, the doors slid open, revealing the Elite he had punched in the jaw. Its eyes were filled with rage as it grabbed him by the neck and threw him against the bulkhead. Nick's head struck first and he slumped to the floor. If it were not for his augmentations, the blow would have been fatal. The Elite pulled him away from the wall with its hoof and punched Nick in this face. Pain shot up his jaw and nose as his vision blurred. He saw stars and the soft overhead lighting became blinding.

Once again, Nick began to wake. He noted he no longer felt any pain in his left arm, there was something wrapped around it and most of his side. It was some type of gel packet that was strapped over him. The gel was cool and soothing on whatever injury he had beneath.

He was still on the padded operating bed and, when he moved, it bobbed slightly, indicating that it was hovering. The cell he was in felt very familiar, although he had never been aboard a Covenant ship before. He slid off the bed and approached an energy shield that blocked the doorway. Nick could see other cells, but as far as he could tell, his was the only one that was occupied.

Glancing around the room, a line on a holographic panel jumped with the beats of his heart. A second line below the first remained flat, likely for some unconnected sensor. Mounted on the wall across from the platform he was on, a clear case held a set of jet black Elite combat armor. It was a complete set, except that one of the crystals in the right forearm guard was missing. He approached the armor. He couldn’t understand why the armor would have been kept in his cell. On the opposite wall, a screen reflected himself, the screen a holographic mirror.

A few hours passed, and nothing happened. Nick had pulled off a panel from the hovering bed and accidentally shut off its generator, so now it sat on the floor, askew to the wall. He was sitting on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, when he heard two tones and the tap of footsteps in the corridor outside.

The footsteps stopped outside his cell. Nick looked over to the doorway, and saw two crimson-armored Elites flanking a silver-armored Ultra beyond the energy shield. The leader stepped towards the controls and the two red Elites activated their wrist blades.

“Stand back and then come peacefully, Demon.” The Ultra requested.

Nick didn't want a repeat of what had happened earlier. He nodded and moved away from the doorway in the least threatening manner he could.

The leader pressed a button outside the door and the shield dissipated. The other two crimson Elites moved in and dragged him out. The Elite on his right dropped him. Nick could have sworn he did it on purpose. Upon closer examination, he could see the Elite’s mandibles were swollen and bandaged under the armor; it was the same Elite he had punched while escaping earlier.

The leader grabbed the injured Elite by the back of its neck and barked at it in its native language, then dropped the crimson one and pulled Nick along itself.

Nick was taken into a cafeteria-like room, with guards posted at every doorway. In the far corner, a green-armored Elite sat with a tablet shaped device, looking as if it was reviewing notes. The Ultra pushed Nick down on a seat while trays of food were brought over. The food was Human, likely taken from a ruined store on Standard IV. Nick was confused, these actions were unlike the Covenant. They never took prisoners, or held any interest for Human things.

“Eat. You will need it.” The Ultra growled.

“Understood... “ Nick muttered, taking a utensil that looked less like it was used for eating and more like it belonged back in a kitchen on a grill. The food was overcooked, but he didn't want to say anything that would end up with them killing him.

With the platter empty, the Ultra stood and nodded to the others behind Nick. “You are returning to your cell.” it said. Nick was shoved off his chair and pushed back towards the hall he had come from.

He sat on the bed in the cell for what felt like half a day before the Ultra returned with a new group of escorts. The Ultra crossed his arms and barked something to the others. The shield disengaged and they pulled him through the ship corridors in the opposite direction of the cafeteria.

They took him up a few decks and into a lab on what seemed like the complete other side of the ship. Nick was held against the a platform on the back wall. The Elites activated energy based restraints and backed out of the room. The exit door glowed red. The lab had a viewing bay behind one way class.

An Elite Major entered the room from the observation bay and approached a platform that began to rise out of the floor. The Elite picked up what appeared to be a compact Needler, and a series of different colored, liquid filled crystals. The Elite looked back at the observation bay. There was an announcement in their language and the Elite loaded the crystals into the Needler-like device.

The Major approached Nick, the platform he was on rotated until he was on his back. The Elite pressed the cool metal into his shoulder. The device went off, something pierced his skin but it felt more like he received a shot than a needle round. The platform rotated again until the underside of his head was easily exposed to the Elite. The device was pressed down there, against the veins of his neck. It went off again, and again it felt no different than a pressurized shot. It never occurred to Nick that the crystals were colored just to show what went next.

The injections went on for hours. The first round had gone fast, but they had taken breaks between every round. Nick's body had become numb after the first hour, losing feeling in his arms and legs. The green armored female Nick had seen in the cafeteria the other day had left the observation bay and now stood beside his platform. She did not take notes, nor did she poke him with strange devices like the others. She just stood there, watching him.

“What… are you doing?” he managed to say, barely staying conscious.

She looked at him, her expression changing to something curious. “Helping you, Nick. Helping you.”

Nick woke suddenly, gasping for air. His gaze shot around the room, he was back in his cell. “Must have finished their tests...” he thought.

Oddly, as he gasped for air, he felt his jaw pull apart and then reassemble. He reached up to where his mouth should have been, but his hand instead collided with the underside of his head, that made no sense. “Whaa...”

He felt around his head, it was elongated, and his hand slipped into his mouth from beneath. Nick pulled his hand away instantly. His hands didn't feel right either. Nick looked down and jumped at what he saw. His skin was light gray and they had two fingers and two thumbs. “Oh my God. I'm an Elite!”

Nick threw the blanket covering his form to the ground to see how far the change had gone. It was complete, even the scar tissue across his body had become gray Elite skin. He lept out of bed to see himself in the mirror. Unfortunately he did not get far, his legs collapsed beneath him. He wasn't familiar with the leg structure that now supported him. Nick pulled himself back up against the floating bed and got himself steady. “Why didn't I see that coming...” he thought. He flexed his leg, trying to get a sense for what muscles did what. After a while, he was confident that that he know what he was doing. Nick released the bed and manually commanded the individual muscles. He took a few steps forward and something clicked, he was able to walk without thinking about it.

“Having fun, Nick?” A voice behind him spoke. Only his name was in English, the rest was in the Covenant language, but he could still understand it.

He spun around, it was the female from earlier. The one that had said she was helping him. She was in the cell with him, not standing outside like the others did. “How long have you been standing here?” He was speaking their language too, he didn't understand how or why.

“Oh, just since you woke up. Active camouflage helps,” she said.

“Why did you do this?... How did you do this?” Nick had tried to say that in English, but he wasn't able to form the words. “And who are you?”

“Well, that device on your wrist.” She said. Nick looked down, he had not noticed it there earlier, a Sangheili Forearm guard with a blue crystal like device embedded on its underside. “It is Forerunner in origin. You do remember the Forerunners, right?”

“Fore… Forerunners?” Nick stopped. The Spartan version of him wouldn't have known what the Forerunners were, but the original him did. There was only one person that knew he would have known about them. “Why would she think I remember them...” he thought.

“I can see you're stumped. This will be hard to believe, but... its me, Michelle.”

“It’s you... what… how?” Nick couldn't believe it. No one knew about Michelle, even if he said something in his sleep they wouldn’t try to pass as her.

“I woke up many cycles ago, on High Charity.” She looked back at the shield door, then back to him. “It is so good to see you again Nick. Its like seeing something from your dreams in real life.”

“Ye… yeah,” Nick said. He sat back onto the hovering bed. “I really can't believe it, I ended up thinking that it all had been a dream… There wasn’t any real proof that you existed, our past life was so long ago.”

“We can make it work again. I had all but given up on finding you too, but after seeing you again, my feelings for you are beginning to return…” Michelle said.


Nick thought about it for a few moments. “Well I’m willing to try this again, for old times.” Nick nodded.

Michelle beckoned him to stand up. “I'm not just here to tell you that, there are things you need to do to stay alive. I disabled the visual and audio monitoring to this cell so we could talk. The Prophet of Truth is going to ask what Earth's defenses are like forcefully or willingly you will comply.”

“They should have gotten a Captain or Admiral. I haven't been to Earth in years.”

“Well, they do not know that, nor do they car-” Naki stopped and held her hand to her headset. “I was just alerted to a change of plans, they want me to come here immediately. Truth is unable to come so he is going to offer you a deal. It seems they're coming down to ask you to join the Covenant, renounce your heresy and be 'cleansed by the holy light.' If you do not do that, they will probably kill you.”

“Oh, well then,” Nick said. “Is that what I should do?”

“I think so, judging by recent events, the end of the Covenant and the war is coming.” She quickly glanced back at the door. “Do you remember your old Sangheili name, from your drawings?”

Nick had to think, it had been many years since he had even thought about that name. “I really can't say I do... Rye something.”

“It was Ryau 'Cinotee. My name actually turned out to be mine, Naki 'Cimutee.”

“Ah, so I'll take it that name if they ask, and Naki? It is a pleasure to meet you, again.” Nick bowed his head to Naki.

Naki nodded back. “I see you still remember some customs.”

“The name jogged my memory,” Nick said. “I'm starting to remember things I haven't thought of in a very long time.”

“Good, I would suggest that you agree with whatever they say, and... you mi-” Naki stopped talking as she heard the shield door drop behind her.

“Science Major Cimutee, what are you doing here so soon?” A San 'Shyuum priest escorted by a handful of Sangheili entered the cell behind Naki.

Naki turned around and saluted the San 'Shyuum “Just checking on the subject, Excellency.”

“And how is it?” he asked.

“Excellent, the transformation went flawlessly. He is speaking and understanding our language without problem as well,” Naki said.

“Very good. Step aside Major.” The San 'Shyuum hovered closer to Nick. “Kneel, vermin.” Nick took Naki's advice and knelt down. “I have been tasked with determining if you can be allowed in our Covenant. If you can be cleansed of your born heresy.” A Grunt in a tunic entered the cell. “This Unggoy Deacon will teach you of the Great Journey.” The San 'Shyuum turned and left, the escort following. Naki nodded and left as well.

Nick and the Unggoy were left alone in the cell. It sat cross legged on the floor and motioned for Nick to sit as well. The Unggoy spent the next few hours preaching about the Gods, the Forerunners and the Great Journey. Nick listened to it well, it had been decades since he had last heard anything close to this, and even then the full beliefs of the Covenant were unknown. He answered the Deacon's questions correctly and asked his own.

Finding Michelle, no, Naki, had changed him. He appeared to be genuinely interested in the Great Journey and joining the Covenant. Gone was the Human-centric Spartan, the old Nick had resurfaced. To the Deacon that taught him, and the San 'Shyuum that watched, this new Sangheili was not going to be a problem at all.

++++

The San 'Shyuum approached Nick's cell a few days later. When the doors opened, Nick remained sitting on the floor, and the Unggoy waddled over to stand behind the San ‘Shyuum. He had put on the bodysuit that accompanied the armor that hung in his room so he didn't have to walk around in scorched and torn clothing. “All non science team members must leave the area at once.” A Sangheili ordered. The guards escorting the San 'Shyuum left.

“You have shown promise to the Covenant, and have earned your name. What do you wish to be called?” the Priest asked as he hovered in.

Nick glanced around, Naki, and the Ultra from earlier, were standing behind the San 'Shyuum. “Ryau 'Cinotee. Tee being the suffix, as suggested by Science Major 'Cimutee, Excellency.”

The Ultra leaned over to Naki. “He learns fast,” he chuckled quietly.

“So the name fits,” Naki nodded with a smirk.

The Priest turned back to Nick. The San 'Shyuum raised his hands above his head. “Very well. Rise, Ryau 'Cinotee, Sangheili of the Great Covenant.” The Priest set his hands down. “However, there are somethings that need to be taken care of. You must not tell anyone of your transformation, or what occurred here, unless ordered by the Hierarchs, High Council or your monitor.”

The Ultra attached a metal bracelet to his wrist, it was small enough to fit under armor. “Any questions, Ryau?”

“Just one right now, who is my monitor?”

“That would be SpecOps Science Major Cimutee here.” The Ultra said, “you will be staying with her, here and on Sanghelios.” He turned and escorted the Priest out of the holding cells.

After they left the room, Nick turned to Naki. “Who is the Ultra?”

“That is Zeik 'Carunmee, my department's Military-Science Ministry adviser. He is going to get you integrated into the battle-net. Just as soon as we're done with my tests.”

“Tests?” Nick asked.

“I was just looking for more time to talk, but we already covered the important things. I didn't know how long we would have, or how you would take it. So I guess you should go to take care of that, just meet him outside the hall.”

“Hmm, so that's it?” Nick asked her.

“Yes, I'll see you tonight, Ryau.” Naki said with a nod.

Nick, now Ryau, headed out the doorway. The Ultra, Zeik, was standing against the corner reading something on a data-pad. As Ryau approached he looked up. “Are you ready to begin, 'Cinotee?”

“Yes I am, Ultra,” Ryau nodded.

“Good, follow me.” The Ultra turned and took Ryau through the ship corridors. They went up a few decks and into a room with a painted circle on the floor. Zeik removed his shoulder and chest armor and set it on a rack against the wall. “Step inside the circle and we will begin.”

As soon as Ryau did, the Ultra swooped in and swung at Ryau's gut. He attempted to block the punch but he wasn’t quick enough. Ryau doubled over and fell to the ground. “Damn,” he wheezed. “I should have been able to block that.” Ryau thought to himself before pushing himself off the floor.

The Ultra paced around the circle. “Your physical modifications are gone. Once again you must learn to fear neither pain or death. You are no longer one of the demonic warriors. Stand by and be ready.”

“Okay...” Ryau stood in a basic sparring stance, a position he had taken many times in boot camp. However, in this body, it felt awkward and off balance, but it was the only one he knew.

“No, no, no. Like this, Ryau.” The Ultra moved his body and legs into a stance Ryau had seen many Sangheili take before engaging in hand to hand, but he never did get a chance to study it. “Now hit me, see how this absorbs the impact.” Ryau lunged forward and struck the Ultra on his bare chest, a strike that should have knocked Zeik back, but istead the force was absorbed by his legs. His lower center of gravity and crouched legs allowed him to spring out and throw Ryau to the ground. “Now you take the stance.”

Ryau imitated Zeik's form and matched him. The Ultra charged, Ryau used his lower center of gravity to shrug off Zeik's attack. Ryau grabbed the Ultra’s wrist and twisted it over his shoulder.

Ryau released the Ultras hand and stepped back. “Hmm, good. You learn fast, utilizing your weight and balance to bring down a more experienced warrior.” Zeik stood and brushed off his chest. “We will be moving on to weapon analysis.” He went into the next room and nodded to a rack of weapons. “Training weapons,” Zeik said. “What class do you prefer?”

Ryau looked across the weapons, their purple alloy gleaming in the light. “Medium to long range weapons.”

“Very well, the Type-51 Carbine should be the best fit. Perhaps a Needle rifle.” Zeik removed a Carbine from the weapon rack and handed it to Ryau. “Show me how you do.”

Ryau gripped the Carbine, his new hands fitting its curves much better than his old ones. The range lit up, holographic targets appearing at various ranges. He took a few test shots to get a feel for how it handled. Ryau let out a breath and opened fire. Most of the shots met their targets. He emptied the cartridge and handed the rifle back to Zeik.

“I see that you are already proficient in our weapons, without a targeting assist system as well, good.” Zeik glanced down at his data-pad. “A Major would be a good fit for someone with your skill set. Special Operations would be even better. This should not draw much attention. Naki will give you your own data-pad when you go see her tonight, and then your identity before we arrive. And one more thing, how do you spell Ryau 'Cinotee?” Zeik chuckled.

Ryau chuckled too and spelled out his new name from what he could remember. Zeik waved him down a hall and they headed back towards the holding cells. When they arrived, there was a group of Sangheili Minors guarding three Human Marines kneeling on the floor.

“You will kill these vermin, the hierarch demands it!” one of the Minors spat. Another held out the hilt of an energy dagger.

Ryau looked over to Zeik, who had backed away from the group and had his hand up to his helmet, talking to someone in a hushed voice. He saw Ryau looking over and nodded slowly.

Ryau turned back to the Marines on the floor before him and took the dagger. “Are you a coward, deserter?” The Minor mocked.

Zeik scowled at the Minor while Ryau examined the dagger, thinking of the quickest way to get it over with. The Ultra spoke out, “Major Cinotee is no deserter, nor heretic. He had just been in a non-combat position for many cycles.”

“Then why does he not act?”

“I am thinking of the best way kill them,” Ryau said. “This is not an honorable way to kill another warrior, execution and not on the battlefield.” He was pulling at every shred he could remember from his past. The other Sangheili just scoffed. Ryau sighed, realizing that he would not be able to convince the Minor to at least give the Marines a chance to fight for their lives. Instead,  he moved quickly, running the plasma blade across the back of the first Marine’s neck, severing the spine and cutting through many of the important pathways.

The body slumped to the deck, and Ryau quickly did the same to the others before they had a chance to see what was happening. He didn't like it, he felt cold. The last time he had killed another Human had been years ago, but those were Insurrectionists, these were fellow Marines. He regretted the decision, but he had to do it. He had found Michelle and that felt like all that mattered.

The Minor grinned and took the dagger back, the other two dragging the bodies away. “Good speech on honor, but these worms aren't deserving of it,” he said.

“All Warriors deserve a death on the battlefield, Minor, even our enemies. And especially the Humans, for they have shown bravery and courage while fighting us,” Zeik said. “Come Ryau, we will get you associated with your new armor.”

“Humans also use dishonorable tactics, traps and deception.” The Minor added, eager to keep the debate going.

“Were we so different before the formation of the Covenant?” Zeik ended the conversation and lead Ryau down the corridor, leaving the Minor standing there with something to think about. Zeik opened a different door and headed inside. He locked it after Ryau entered. “I am sorry about that, I was not informed that the Hierarch had ordered such an event. Are you alright?”

“Yes, it had to be done.” Ryau said coldly.

Zeik frowned. “Well, let us continue then.” He removed a lid from a crate and revealed the armor that had been in the cell. Zeik removed the leg armor from the case and showed Ryau the underside. “These quick attachment ports will connect to similar points on your body suit, some pieces have secondary straps and pieces to connect.” He pushed the piece onto Ryau's leg and it clicked, a wrap around piece circled his thigh and held the piece firmly in place.

He hefted the shield generator out of the crate. “Put your arms through the straps, it goes on similarly to a backpack and the chest plates attach to it.” Zeik informed. Ryau slipped his arms through and clicked together the different harness straps.

“I see now why its called a Combat Harness,” Ryau chuckled to himself, his mood lightening a bit.

Zeik clicked in attachment ports around his sides, to which the heavy chest plate was attached. Ryau slipped on a similar forearm guard to the one that had been attached to his right arm since his transformation. The orange light on the new guard changed to blue to match the Forerunner device on his right arm, lines of text streamed across its surface as it interfaced with the rest of the armor.

Once it was all on, Zeik stepped back. “Now just press the flashing icon on your tactical pad,” he said. “Its the interface on your left wrist.”

Ryau looked down and pressed the icon, the air around him flashed with static. The lenses that he had placed over his eyes flashed with information, the shield bar appeared fully charged and a motion tracker appeared in the corner. “I wonder who inspired who. Or is it just similar gameplay leaking into the real world?”

“Your shields should be online now,” Zeik said.

“Indeed they are.” Ryau said.

“Good, systems are all working fine. I will assign the system manual to your list of readings. Be sure to finish that before you encounter any combat.”

“Erm… Understood.”

“Excellent, I'll take you back to Naki's cabin now.” Zeik lead Ryau through the many corridors, mostly empty, until they reached the personnel decks. “This ship was not intended for combat operations, it was designed for scientific expeditions. It has a much larger crew deck than other Cruisers,”

Naki stood outside her room. “Well they have yet to set up your bed, or a room divider. You'll have to sleep on the floor for the night.”

“Why not send him to bunk in the common rooms, he seems to be catching on quickly,” Zeik suggested.

Naki shot him a look that just said,"Shut the fuck up." He backed up a few steps. “I want to keep him under observation for a few nights.”

“I see...” Zeik said. “I should get to work on his identity file.” He turned around and headed down the hallway.

Naki pulled him inside. “Well I guess I need to get you set up,” she pulled a blanket and a pillow and set up a spot on the floor. “Is that good enough for now?”

Ryau looked around. “I've slept in much worse conditions.” He sat down on the bed roll and fiddled with the pillow.

“Well it seems Zeik got you set up in your armor, are you planning on sleeping in it?” Naki asked.

“I don't see why not, I'm used to it.” Ryau said. “I have a lot of reading to do now.”

“While that's true, you and I have many cycles to catch up on. My cabin is a secured location, so we can talk about whatever you would like.”